It also cost me my sister.
I clutched at my chest, trying to keep the pain at bay, and groaned. It was no good. She was gone, and I still didn’t know why. Hell, I’d only managed to spend two minutes with her cooling body before I’d placed a kiss on her head and hightailed it out of there. She deserved more, but it was all I had in me.
Warmth on my hand had me glancing down. Thatch’s palm pressed against me, wordlessly offering me comfort. Gritting my teeth was all I could manage, swiftly followed by a small nod. Just a while longer and I could break, and sleep, and make sure my niece was safe.
Exhaling, I stared once more out the window, recognising the area. It was upscale and one of the very few properties with small acreage so close to the city. I’d had no choice but to go with Thatch. He couldn’t be alone. Yeah, I wanted answers about my sister, which he was yet to divulge, but it was more than that. I felt compelled to be here.
He moved his hand off me when we turned into an entrance secured by impressive-looking security gates. How on earth did he afford a place like this?
“I know.” Thatch’s voice startled me. “Ostentatious, right?”
I shrugged. “Perhaps a little.”
He nodded. “My family always had a thing for privacy. Plus considering you now know who I am and how important it is for my identity at the SICB to remain confidential, protection is pretty important.”
I cast a quick glance at the driver, who’d remained stoically silent the whole way.
“That’s Bert.” Thatch smiled, and my heart stuttered at the action. Damn, his teeth were crazy white and straight. I mentally punched my junk, wondering why I was fixating on his teeth. “He’s been my family’s driver for thirty years.”
Wide-eyed, I glanced in the rear-view mirror and met Bert’s eyes. He threw me a wink. “Oh.” I chewed the inside of my cheek, then offered, “Hey, Bert.”
“Hey, Callen.”
Surprise flickered through me that he already knew my name, but then I reminded myself I’d somehow entered an alternate universe, or the Twilight Zone, or something equally as weird.
After passing through security, we pulled up outside a large brick property. It could have easily been an eyesore, simply because of its vastness. But the structure was tasteful. While on the edge of modern, it somehow managed to look like it had been here for centuries.
Bert exited the SUV and held Thatch’s door open. I stepped out the opposite side and dashed around to help Thatch. He was flagging, even more than I was. His posture was stiff, body tense to the point his shoulder muscles looked fit to snap.
“You know, being a shifter comes with advantages.”
He glanced at me as I spoke, giving me his attention despite the pain he battled. “Yeah?”
“I have these impressive muscles. I can carry you if you want?” I grinned at him. While humour perhaps wasn’t the ideal way of trying to help Thatch, it was my go-to fix in so many random situations. “Bride-style?” I waggled my brows.
A snort escaped him, followed by a cringe and the tightening of his features.
“Okay, okay… no bride-style. Sheesh. You could have let me down gently.”
With my arm around his waist, I led him towards the house. Bert had gone ahead to the main door. I expected his staff to file out and wasn’t sure if I was disappointed or not when Bert pulled out keys, unlocked the door, and disappeared for a few seconds. A house of this size deserved a housekeeper; hell, a damn butler for sure.
Bert reappeared. “His room is the third door on the left up the stairs. You’re best to take the room next to his. The one on his left.”
My eyes widened when I figured he was directing me with those instructions. Though I couldn’t blame him. The first transformation was notorious for being painful and well… odd. Some apparently were in agony, some became murderous, some behaved like they’d taken a ton of coke. And then there were the horny ones, but I wasn’t sure if that was an old wives’ tale or not.
I nodded my thanks, and as Bert closed the door behind us, I almost staggered. The house was freakin’ beautiful and strangely immaculate. It had a show-home quality to it, though. While it wasn’t cold, it didn’t feel personal.
“How you doing there, Thatch?” I asked when he became heavier. I was on the cusp of carrying through with my offer. I didn’t know what kind of man Thatch was, but with a guy in authority, and I assumed tough enough to kick arse and take names despite being a human, perhaps sweeping him off his feet wouldn’t go down too well.
“Yeah. Just hot, and so tired. My neck….” He winced. “Yeah, sleep and willing this to hurry the hell up is about where I’m at. Just need my feet to stop feeling like lead.”
That was my cue.
He grunted and gave a small protest when I scooped him up. His glazed eyes swept over my face, and his mouth lifted into a tired smile. “I’ll just say thanks.”
“Ha!” I grinned and then focussed on the staircase. “No worries. You really don’t weigh much with these impressive guns I have.”
He gave a half-hearted laugh and leaned against my chest. I was no stranger to having guys draped over me. I was quite partial to it, in fact, but I tensed all the same. A deep woodsy scent of forests filtered through my senses, and I was beginning to recognise this as a scent distinctly Thatch’s. It was refreshing, welcoming even. But still, I struggled to relax with him in my arms. Though knowing I had
